Past The Whistle Stop Sage Biscuit Café Fried Green Tomatoes 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EVAN SIGMUND

Nothing puts this southern delight on the map or in the public consciousness like the 1991 film of the same name, based on a novel by Fannie Flagg. In the midst of an unassumingly dark tale, it’s the comfort food fare at the local Whistle Stop Café that brings the characters together and forms the delicious heart of the journey. For all those hankering for the area’s brand of down-home cooking with an upstart kick, check out the Eggs Benedict with Jalapeño Bacon and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Sage Biscuit Café in Bradenton. Starting with the eponymous buttermilk biscuit, blended with sage for “that herby, earthy flavor,” chef and co-owner Joseph Moreta turns to the green tomatoes not yet fried, but sliced and soaked in buttermilk, tenderizing. He pats down the tomato slices with flour seasoning and fries them up. Putting it all together with house-made Hollandaise, Moreta tops it off with jalapeño-smoked bacon powdered with cayenne pepper. “That’s one of our more popular benedicts,” says Moreta. “It’s a little different; it has a little bite to it.”

The Golden Ticket Dulcefina

Though the majority of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory takes place in the aforementioned factory, the film’s early depiction of the sweet shop, crowded by shrieking and sugar-fiending children, sets the bar for what a candy shop should be: exciting, unruly and packed floor-to-ceiling with all manner of sweets in vibrant wrappings. Sarasota may not have any reclusive, sweet-toothed industrialists on the map, but it does have Dulcefina, nestled in a strip off South Tamiami Trail, attracting candy connoisseurs like moths to a flame. With an international focus, Dulcefina brings in chocolates, licorice and assorted candies from over 35 different countries, including England, Brazil, Ukraine, Italy, Holland and Finland, filling the racks and bins with licorice buttons and glass jars of individually wrapped chocolates. In business for a little over a year, Dulcefina is already making a name for itself as the place to go for those who have a curious or discerning palate, especially for licorice. “If they have a specific type that they are looking for, they come here,” says Dorcas “Dee” Chiyadza, on staff at Dulcefina. The selection is staggering, but careful organization allows one to take stock and make sense of the surroundings.

“Take the cannoli.” Paisano’s Italian Bakery

So you’ve gotten your mafia fix marathoning Godfather Parts One and Two (it’s up to you whether you include Part Three) and now you need your cannoli fix. It’s one of the most memorable ad-libs in cinema history—a young Michael Corleone is steeling himself to commit double murder in the name of his dear old pops, and the old warhorse Peter Clemenza drops some sage advice, “Drop the gun. Take the cannoli.” Well Paisano’s Italian Bakery has you covered, where co-founders and owners Laurie and David Moretti oversee a vast array of culinary creations, including pastries, cookies, cakes and good old-fashioned cannolis. “The filling is what sets it apart,” says David. “A lot of people buy premade. We make our filling from scratch.” Made from impastata—ricotta with the water drained—and granulated sugar, the Morettis keep the recipe simple and the tastes pure. The shell —“paper-thin” dough wrapped into a cone and fried—gives the creamy filling a nice counterpoint. But the real secret, says Laurie, “We fill them as people buy them,” which means no soggy shells in the display case, just fresh, crispy cannolis